It’s been a great run for the Franklin Township 11-12-year-old all-stars this summer.

And on Thursday, the team capped off the season with a championship.

Scoring runs in every inning but one, the “Maroon Marauders” turned aside Towamensing 8-3 to lay claim to the Panther Valley Little League tournament title and the Joe Plasko Memorial trophy.

Franklin clubbed out 14 hits, received a sterling mound performance from a pair of pitchers and made plays in the field to secure the victory.

“Any time you can win a championship it makes it fun for the players,” said FT manager Ben Moyer. “They’ve had a great run, and this makes it even more special to win the (PVLL) tournament.”

The Marauders wasted little time, building a 2-0 lead in the first. There was one out when winning pitcher Owen Moyer doubled and then rode home on a Brook Atwood single. Atwood, who raced to second on a throw home, also came in to score on a Brian Mriss RBI single.

Franklin Township added a solo run in the second. With one out, Landan Steigerwalt singled and eventually scored on Garrett Utrata’s RBI ground out.

“We were aggressive all game long,” Moyer said. “But that’s the way we’ve played since these kids have been together. They love to play this game; it’s fun to coach them.”

It nearly became “Blow out City” for Franklin when it expanded the lead to 6-0 with a three-run uprising in the top of the third. With two outs, Ethan Laible - who recorded the save on the mound after replacing Owen Moyer - got the first of his two singles to fuel the rally.

Moyer followed with a single, putting runners at the corners. Atwood belted a two-run double and would score on Mriss’s RBI hit.

Towamensing, however, wasn’t about to quit. It rallied for a run in the home half of the third, thanks to Luke Machalik’s double and a ground out to cut the lead 6-1. The home club added two more in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to singles by Xavier Ahner, Robbie George and a Cade Serfass two-run double.

Undaunted, Franklin added a run in the fifth and another in the sixth. Roman White led off the fifth with a walk, and eventually scored on Laible’s second hit. Then the winners added the icing on the cake on a Korbin Ahner double and a Steigerwalt RBI single.

“They’ve been swinging the bats really good over the past three or four games,” Moyer said. “They’ve been playing loose, and fun to watch … we’ve got some trophies to hand out and that is a nice thing for this special group.”

BANGING AWAY … Franklin’s offensive attack was led by Mriss, who collected three hits. Atwood and Moyer both doubled and singled, while Laible and Steigerwalt each ended with a pair of singles. Josh McGinley chipped in with a double. For Towamensing, Machalik had a double, while singles came off the bats of Shafer, George, Xavier and Parker Ahner.

SHOUTOUT … Jennifer Laible came to our rescue. The game started at 5:30 p.m. - up from the original 6 p.m. starting time. Jennifer provided the information on the early hitting and run-scoring.

Franklin Twp. 213 011 - 8 13 0

Towamensing 001 200 - 3 5 2

Moyer, Laible (4) and Spotts; Shafer and X. Ahner. W - Moyer. L - Shafer.